Democrats Could Save Speaker Johnson — But Republicans Say That Would Doom Him

Faced with the possibility of a revolt within his own party if he allows a vote on helping Ukraine fend off Russia’s brutal invasion, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) may need help from Democrats to keep his job.

But there’s a problem with that: Many members of his party see any hint of help from across the aisle as even more reason to oust him.

And that leaves Democrats, who favor Ukraine aid, in an awkward position: How do you help when your help is unwanted?

“Our general approach has been that [Make America Great Again] Republicans have to solve the problems that MAGA Republicans create,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told HuffPost Tuesday. “We cannot cure the MAGA caucus of their intrinsic cannibalism.”

He continued, “Having said that, the real ethical imperative now is to get aid to the people of Ukraine. I will talk to anybody about what needs to be done to get aid to people.”

On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he supported Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) threat to call a vote to oust Johnson from the speaker’s chair if he brings Ukraine aid to the floor. Johnson laid out a plan Monday night to do just that, in conjunction with aid to Israel, Taiwan and another measure with several GOP-favored national security-oriented provisions.

With Republicans having only two votes to spare in party-line votes, a margin which will drop even further when Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-Wis.) resignation becomes effective later in the week, the threat to Johnson’s hold on power is real.

Johnson said he was unconcerned but delayed the release of the details of his plan until Wednesday.

The resulting pileup has led to a tableau of incongruous and awkward scenes on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. Tuesday morning saw